1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to a generator assembly on a manually powered vehicle wheel, especially a bicycle wheel, to provide electricity to power lighting accessories or other accessories.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical generators for lamps for pedal cycles have been known for a long time. A conventional dynamo may be driven by a friction wheel engaging a tire or rim of a wheel. Such simple dynamos utilizing single generating units, have various disadvantages. For example, wear on the surface of the tire may be appreciable and the continuity of electrical supply to an appliance such as a lamp may be very variable in dependence on the rotation of the wheel.
Over the years, a large number of proposals to alleviate the problems associated with the simple dynamo system have been made. Some of these are exemplified by the disclosures of the following listed patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,496 issued Sep. 3, 19854 to Thomas et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,176 issued Aug. 22, 1989 to Bauwens et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,919 issued Oct. 4, 1988 to Pearsall et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,203 issued Feb. 17, 1987 to Thomas et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,328 issued Jun. 30, 1987 issued to Kumakura
U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,840 issued Jul. 7, 1992 to Seki et al.
German Pat. No. 27 29 446 issued Jan. 11, 1979
Japanese Pat. No. 52-9808 issued Jan. 25, 1977
Many proposals have been made to modify the simple dynamo system, many of these proposals have resulted in considerable extra expense without commensurate improvement in performance.
The present inventor has addressed the problems, and, as a result, has devised a modified dynamo system.